And so it begins... A lengthy deep freeze is settling in and it'll last at least through the weekend, possibly into early next week.
Temperatures will hold steady near -23 C through most of today, but a 10-15 km/h wind will give us wind chills in the -30 to -33 range.
That means frostbite is possible on exposed skin in as little as 15-30 minutes.
We'll also keep the clouds and occasional flurries/light snow. But, no more than a dusting to 2 cm is expected today and tonight.
By Thursday, we'll be hovering around -27 C through the day, with wind chill in the -35 to -40 range.
Frostbite will be possible on exposed skin in as little as 10-20 minutes.
And that's STILL not the bottom of the deep freeze.
Friday-Sunday mornings all look like they'll be in the -35 to -40 C range. Daytime "highs" those days will be in the -30 to -33 C range.
This'll be the coldest stretch of January weather since 2020 when Edmonton had four straight days with highs below -25 C and lows in the -30s.
We hit -37.6 C on Jan. 15, 2020. That's the coldest temperature IN JANUARY in Edmonton over the past 25 years.
So, if we get three consecutive days with highs of -30 C or colder and a couple mornings around -37 C, this will actually be a fairly unusual deep freeze.
It gets cold here in Edmonton during the winter, but it doesn't often get AS COLD as what we're expecting for Friday through Sunday.
The only positive news is that the wind should be light (5-10 km/h) through those three days.
There remains some uncertainty with temperatures by Monday/Tuesday.
I'm keeping daytime highs around -20 C, with a return to the mid minus teens by mid to late next week.
BUT...there is a chance we get closer to the -10 C range by early next week (I remain skeptical about that as of right now).
Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:
Today - Cloudy with occasional flurries/light snow. No significant accumulation.
Wind: N 10-15 km/h.
Temperature steady near -23 (wind chill in the -30 to -33 range)
Tonight - Cloudy with a 40% chance of flurries/light snow. No significant accumulation.
Wind: N 10 km/h
9pm: -25 (wind chill near -35)
Thursday - Cloudy with a few sunny breaks.
Wind: N 10-15 km/h
Morning Low: -28 (wind chill near -38)
Afternoon High: -27 (wind chill near -37)
Friday - Partly cloudy. Light wind (Nw 5-10 km/h)
Morning Low: -34
Afternoon High: -30
Saturday - Mainly sunny. Light wind.
Morning Low: -37
Afternoon High: -33
Sunday - Mainly sunny. Light wind.
Morning Low: -35
Afternoon High: -31
Temperature rising overnight.
Monday - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of flurries or light snow.
Morning Low: -26
Afternoon High: -22
